Business Builders

🔔🔔 Ciaran Burke, CEO and co-founder of Swoop, shares how he built a global fintech platform helping 300,000+ businesses access over £2BN in funding - and the brutal realities behind scaling a startup 🔔🔔
Ciaran Burke joins Business Builders to share the story behind Swoop and the realities of building and scaling a fintech company in the modern funding landscape.
What started as a simple idea - helping small businesses navigate the complex world of finance - has grown into a global platform operating across multiple countries, connecting businesses with loans, equity, grants, and financial insights.
But the journey from early-stage startup to international scale was anything but smooth.
Ciaran shares the often unseen side of entrepreneurship; from sleepless nights during funding rounds to the pressure of keeping a team motivated while facing uncertainty behind the scenes.
Along the way, he learned one of the most important lessons in business; not all revenue is created equal. Growth can look impressive on the surface, but without understanding margins and key drivers, it can actually hold a business back.
In this episode, Ciaran breaks down what it really takes to scale a company: understanding your numbers, making tough decisions about where to focus, and navigating the emotional and operational challenges that come with growth.
He also explains why many founders misunderstand funding, how businesses limit themselves by relying on a single source of finance, and why being “funding ready” is more important than ever.
This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, fintech, and the reality of building a business in an increasingly complex and competitive environment.
“Not all revenue is the same… some of it looks good, but you’re actually giving most of it away.”
🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why Ciaran co-founded Swoop and the problem it solves for businesses
 The hidden realities of fundraising and founder pressure
 Why not all revenue is equal - and how to think about margin
 How small improvements in key metrics can drive massive growth
 What it really means to be “funding ready”
 Why many founders give up too early when seeking finance
 How to understand and track the most important numbers in your business
 The challenges of building a two-sided marketplace
 Why having a co-founder can be critical during tough periods
 What it takes to scale a business across multiple countries
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 - Cold open
 01:00 - Introducing Ciaran Burke and Swoop
 03:30 - The problem with business funding
 08:00 - How Swoop works and makes money
 12:00 - Early days and building the business
 15:30 - The challenge of two-sided marketplaces
 26:00 - Why not all revenue is equal
 30:30 - Being funding ready and understanding your numbers
 40:40 - Founder pressure and fundraising stress
 42:00 - The importance of co-founders
 48:30 - Building a business internationally
 55:00 - Lessons from scaling Swoop
Topics covered:
Entrepreneurship, fintech, Swoop, startup funding, business finance, scaling a business, founders, cashflow, revenue vs profit, two-sided marketplaces, leadership, startup growth.

🔔🔔 Willie McMahon built, scaled, and sold a 45-person engineering business - then walked away to help other founders do it better. 🔔🔔
Willie is giving away 10 copies of the book Traction on a first come first served basis. If you’re running a company with between 10 - 250 employees, contact Willie to get your free copy: [email protected]
Willie McMahon, EOS Implementer and founder of CalX (exited) joins Business Builders to share how he went from a one-man operation to building and exiting a scaling engineering business - and what he learned along the way.
Starting with no plan, no funding, and no support network, Willie built a calibration and instrumentation business from scratch. What began as a solo operation grew into a 45-person company, navigating cash flow pressure, hiring challenges, and the realities of bootstrapping - before eventually merging and exiting.
But the journey wasn’t smooth. Growth nearly broke the business multiple times. Hiring mistakes, cash constraints, and operational complexity forced hard decisions - including turning down major opportunities that could have destroyed everything.
Willie shares how 90-day execution cycles and relentless problem-solving helped them scale - even before formally discovering EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System).
The conversation dives into what actually drives business success: people, structure, and clarity. Willie explains why most problems are not what they seem, why founders are often the bottleneck, and how systems - not effort - create scalable companies.
He also opens up about the emotional side of building and selling a business: risk, fear, responsibility, and the moment you realise you’re responsible for other people’s livelihoods.
Now working with founders through EOS, Willie helps businesses break through growth ceilings, build stronger cultures, and create structure that enables freedom.
This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, scaling, leadership, and building a business that actually works.
“It's not the person - it's the system around them.”
🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:
How Willie built and scaled a business from 1 to 45 people
 Why most businesses hit growth ceilings (and how to break through them)
 The reality of bootstrapping and managing cash flow
 Why hiring “another you” is a mistake
 How to think about risk as a founder
 Why short-term (90-day) thinking drives long-term growth
 The importance of culture and hiring the right people
 How to structure a business for scale
 Why most problems are systems problems, not people problems
 The emotional reality of selling a business
 How EOS helps founders gain clarity, control, and freedom
 Why you must grow as a person to grow your business
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 - Cold open
 00:55 - Introducing Willie McMahon and EOS
 02:00 - What calibration and instrumentation actually is
 05:00 - Early career and falling into the industry
 08:30 - The moment he decided to start his own business
 11:00 - First hires and early hiring mistakes
 14:30 - “I didn’t need another me”
 16:00 - Bootstrapping and surviving on cash flow
 18:00 - 90-day targets and early growth
 21:00 - Becoming an employer and responsibility for people
 23:00 - Turning down a huge opportunity
 26:00 - Fear, risk, and decision-making as a founder
 30:00 - Discovering EOS and business frameworks
 33:00 - Why founders must grow to scale their business
 37:00 - Building culture (and the fictional character hiring test)
 42:00 - Merging the business and scaling rapidly
 46:00 - Managing operations, hiring, and field teams
 53:00 - Marketing tactics that actually worked
 57:00 - Growth during COVID and scaling chall

🔔🔔 Gowri Subramanian built a $200M global software company over 25 years - without venture capital 🔔🔔
Gowri Subramanian, CEO of Aspire Systems, joins Business Builders to share how he built and scaled a global technology services company from zero to $200M in revenue; entirely bootstrapped.
What started as a group of seven friends with no clear plan or funding became a 4,500-person software and technology services business working with global enterprises across the US, Europe, and beyond. But the journey was slow and difficult. It took years to find product-market fit, pivot away from a non-scaling business model, and reach profitability.
Gowri explains how Aspire evolved from an industrial engineering consultancy into a software product engineering company, a pivot that unlocked growth. Instead of raising venture capital, the company reinvested profits and used debt funding to scale, taking a long-term approach. 
Moving from $10M to $100M required one set of capabilities; but, scaling beyond that meant competing with global firms like Accenture, Capgemini, and Infosys. Gowri shares why every stage requires a different company, strategy, and mindset.
The conversation also explores AI and its impact on the software industry. Gowri explains why AI threatens traditional time-and-materials models, while also creating opportunities in legacy modernisation, enterprise transformation, and custom software.
Beyond strategy, this episode dives into leadership, culture, and long-term thinking. Gowri shares why people and open feedback are critical to scaling, and why he’s focused on building a business for the long term - not for exit - including creating impact through philanthropy in India.
This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, scaling, AI disruption, and building something that lasts.
“Business is a rat race - there is no finish line.”
🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:
How Gowri built Aspire Systems into a $200M global company
 Why the first 7 years of business were the hardest
 The importance of pivoting when a business isn’t scaling
 How to grow without venture capital
 Why scaling from $100M to $200M is so difficult
 What changes at each stage of growth
 How to compete with global firms like Accenture and Infosys
 The real impact of AI on software businesses
 Why AI is both a threat and an opportunity
 How culture and people drive success
 The role of persistence over decades
 Why teaching skills creates more impact than charity
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 - Cold open
 00:55 - Introducing Gowri Subramanian and Aspire Systems
 02:00 - What Aspire Systems does
 05:00 - Moving from India to Singapore and Ireland
 06:00 - Starting with no plan or funding
 09:00 - 7 founders to 3
 12:00 - Early business model and pivot
 13:30 - Shutting down one business
 14:30 - Road to profitability
 18:00 - Early ambition
 21:30 - Bootstrapping vs VC
 22:30 - Growth to $100M
 25:30 - Scaling challenges
 27:30 - “Business is a rat race”
 29:30 - AI and the future
 34:30 - Culture and leadership
 37:00 - Open feedback
 40:00 - Founder mindset
 47:30 - Angel investing
 50:00 - India’s growth
 59:30 - Philanthropy
 01:05:00 - Long-term vision
Topics covered:
Entrepreneurship, scaling a business, bootstrapping, venture capital, AI and business, software industry, technology services, leadership, company culture, global expansion, startups, India economy, product engineering, long-term business building, philanthropy, founders

🔔🔔 Laura Dowling, founder of fabÜ, built a business by talking about topics most people avoid; and it changed everything 🔔🔔
Laura Dowling joins Business Builders to share how she turned women’s health - one of the most overlooked and under-discussed areas in healthcare - into a fast-growing brand, a platform, and a movement.
What started as years of frustration working as a pharmacist and seeing women suffer in silence with issues no one was talking about, evolved into a business, a movement, and a platform for education.
Laura explains how she spent over a decade developing formulations before launching fabÜ from her couch, without retail backing or a traditional business plan. By building an audience on Instagram and speaking openly about topics many considered taboo, she created demand first - and the business followed.
Along the way, she uncovered something deeper: women’s health has been historically misunderstood, under-discussed, and often dismissed. From menopause to intimate health, many women simply aren’t given the language, knowledge, or confidence to understand their own bodies.
In this episode, Laura shares how she turned that insight into a brand, a live show, and a bestselling book - all while staying true to her voice and refusing to sanitise the message.
She also opens up about failure, launching without a plan, living with ADHD as a founder, and why building a business doesn’t always follow a straight line.
This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, identity, and the power of saying the things no one else is willing to say.
“People are embarassed  to talk about it - but that’s exactly why it matters.”
🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why Laura started fabÜ and the problem she saw in women’s health
 How she built a business without a traditional plan
 The realities of launching a product with no retail backing
 Why Instagram played a key role in growing her audience
 How taboo topics became her biggest advantage
 What women’s health issues are still not being talked about
 How to build a brand by being unapologetically yourself
 The role of ADHD in her entrepreneurial journey
 Why founders should trust instinct over “perfect” market research
 How purpose and mission can drive long-term business growth
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 - Cold open
 00:55 - Introducing Laura Dowling and fabÜ
 02:10 - Launching the business from her couch
 05:30 - Preventative health vs “sick care”
 08:45 - Building an audience on Instagram
 14:00 - ADHD and the entrepreneurial mind
 21:00 - Why we don’t talk about women’s health
 24:45 - The talk that changed everything
 27:30 - Turning taboo into a business
 30:15 - Breaking stigma and building a brand
 35:30 - Growing without a traditional plan
 39:15 - Ask for forgiveness, not permission
 43:15 - Trusting instinct over market research
 53:00 - Hiring, team building and culture
 01:00:00 - Asking for help and final advice
Topics covered:
Entrepreneurship, women’s health, fabÜ, supplements, startup founders, personal branding, Instagram marketing, ADHD and business, health education, building a brand, taboo topics, consumer products.

My guest today is Jayne Ronayne, Co-Founder and CEO of OAC Snacks, an e-commerce company focusing on high protein snacks that are simple, delicious and made for real life. 
Jayne previously founded employee experience platform Talivest, which raised over €3 million in its lifetime (from some very big named investors) and was acquired by the Australian tech company Go1 in 2022.
In this chat, Jayne talks about:
Why she’s turning her back on the business “holy grail” of SAAS, and getting into the difficult & competitive food industry 

Starting and Growing Talivest to a successful exit

Why she views being dyslexic as an advantage in business 

Burnout, fund raising, and the importance of healthy food in our lives. 

Much more
Topics covered:
Entrepreneurship, SAAS, software companies, raising venture capital, food startups, OAC Snacks, protein snacks, food manufacturing, consumer brands, startup founders, healthy snack industry, product development, building a food brand.